The Fostering Success Program (FSP) is a donor funded program that provides scholarships, academic support, and other resources to students from independent backgrounds. This report describes the participants of FSP and assesses their student success outcomes, i.e., persistence rates, four- and six-year graduation rates, first fall academic probation rate, and first fall CSU cumulative grade point average (GPA) for first-year and transfer cohorts from the beginning of the program in Fall 2010 to Fall 2022. The analyses compare FSP and a reference group (students with at least one structurally underserved characteristic [first generation, racially minoritized, or Pell recipient] and not a part of FSP).

When examining the demographic characteristics of FSP participants, first generation, racially minoritized, and Pell recipients are overrepresented when compared to CSU overall. Comparing to a reference group of students who have at least one of these characteristics and are not a part of the FSP afforded a better comparison when examining student success outcomes. However, the reference group was not a statistically matched sample and generally had fewer underserved identities compared to the FSP population.

First-year FSP students persisted at rates about one to three percentage points (PP) lower than the reference group, graduated at rates about four to seven PP lower than the reference group, had a first fall academic probation rate of about eight PP higher than the reference group, and had a lower first fall CSU GPA by a quarter of a grade point. Transfer FSP students persisted at rates about one to six PP higher than the reference group, graduated at rates about three to four PP higher than the reference group, had a first fall academic probation rate of about two PP lower than the reference group, and had nearly the same cumulative GPA as the reference group.

Overall, first-year Fostering Success Program students had slightly lower student success outcomes than their peers while transfer FSP students had higher levels of student success outcomes. First-year FSP student’s lower success rates may indicate a need for additional supports. However, the difference in student success outcomes may also be a result of the difference in demographic characteristics between the FSP students and the reference group used. Transfer FSP students’ prior college experiences may have contributed to their higher level of success. Because the FSP has a holistic vision of supporting independent students which includes community building, social support, and personal development, other measures of success (outside of the University’s system of record) should be kept in mind.